Mr Bennet Has Enough
by HarnGin
Summary: Set just before Lydia and Wickham's wedding, Mr. Bennet, heartily sick of his wife's raptures regarding Lydia's marriage, reaches the limit of his endurance.


Mr. Bennet Has Enough

Set just before Lydia and Wickham's wedding, Mr. Bennet, heartily sick of his wife's raptures regarding Lydia's marriage, reaches the limit of his endurance.

"_My dear, dear Lydia!" she cried. "This is delightful indeed! She will be married! I shall see her again! She will be married at sixteen! My good, kind brother! I knew how it would be. I knew he would manage everything! How I long to see her! and to see dear Wickham too! But the clothes, the wedding clothes! I will write to my sister Gardiner about them directly. Lizzy, my dear, run down to your father, and ask him how much he will give her. Stay, stay, I will go myself. Ring the bell, Kitty, for Hill. I will put on my things in a moment. My dear, dear Lydia! How merry we shall be together when we meet!"_ (Jane Austen. Pride & Prejudice (pp. 155 and 156). Amazon Digital Services, Inc.)

"Mrs. Bennet," shouted her husband.

Startled, Mrs. Bennet stopped speaking to stare at her life-long companion who had slipped into her sitting room unnoticed. Before she could once more begin speaking, he continued in a forthright though, admittedly much quieter tone of voice. "Let me be very clear. Lydia has behaved most abominably, and that behavior has consequences. I will not provide any funds to pay for wedding clothes, nor will I advance funds to aid in setting up housekeeping. As for meeting her again, _after_ the couple is wed, they may visit Longbourn. I hope they enjoy that visit for it will be the only one permitted as long as I am master."

"But, Mr. Bennet," screeched his wife.

"I have spoken," replied her husband firmly. "I will not hear another word on this subject."

Mrs. Bennet then began loudly conferring with her daughters to plan menus, neighborhood visits, and an elaborate wedding celebration to occur while the newlyweds were to be in residence. She had just begun to suggest new dresses for her other daughters when Mr. Bennet interrupted once more.

"No, Mrs. Bennet," he stated.

Having forgotten her husband's presence, a shocked Mrs. Bennet turned to him and asked, "What ever do you mean, Mr. Bennet? Surely, you don't object to the girls having new dresses to wear to the dinner celebrating their sister's marriage?"

"There will be no special meals, visiting with the neighbors, nor celebratory dinners while the Wickhams are at Longbourn. Our daughters will require no new dresses as they will not be in residence," stipulated Mr. Bennet.

"Not in residence? Where ever shall they go," demanded Mrs. Bennet.

"As soon as Edward sends word that the marriage has taken place, Jane and Lizzy will go to Aunt Blakeney* in Richmond, and Mary and Kitty will go to him and Madeline," informed Mr. Bennet.

"But, why? And what do you mean no visits or dinners," asked the puzzled wife.

Both parents seemed to have completely forgotten the presence of their daughters who looked from one parent to the other in silent amazement.

"Lydia has disgraced herself and nearly ruined her sisters. An elopement could have been overlooked, but no elopement has occurred. Instead, Lydia has lived with a man without the benefit of marriage for some weeks. Your brother has had to pay the man to marry her. For appearances' sake, you and I must pretend to welcome them after the marriage, but our remaining daughters shall not be exposed to such immoral people. Nor will we flaunt their presence in our home by visiting or entertaining our neighbors." Mr. Bennet raised his hand to stop his wife's interruption. "I have not yet finished," he continued, "meals while the Wickhams are here will be limited to one course and will be plain, country fare. They will stay in the guest rooms that the Gardiners typically inhabit. No fires will be lit in their chambers. No maid or valet will be assigned to them. Mr. Wickham will not be invited into my book room, nor will Mrs. Wickham be invited into the non-public rooms in this house. Neither horses nor carriage will be made available. Should they wish to leave our house, they must either walk or hire their own conveyance. No special accommodations will be made for them, and we will make no effort to entertain them. They shall be unwelcome guests and will be treated as such—by everyone. Once they depart, they will _not_ be invited to return. That is my final word."

Mrs. Bennet loudly burst into tears as her husband calmly walked out of her sitting room. One by one, her daughters followed their father in silent solidarity. Though Mrs. Bennet would never truly understand exactly why her husband was being so unreasonable toward her favorite daughter and, privately, would berate him in a vain effort to soften his stance, he would remain surprisingly firm. Mr. Bennet had been pushed until he had had enough. Indolence had gotten him an overly nervous wife, three silly daughters, and a rake as a son-in-law. Mr. Bennet could not change the past, but, in future he vowed, things at Longbourn would be different.

*Fans of Baroness Orczy will recognize the association between Richmond and Blakeney. In my defense, I needed a location between Longbourn and London where Jane and Lizzy could be accommodated since I do not believe the Gardiners easily able to accommodate four extra people. Richmond seemed a convenient area. My English geography, however, is limited so that Richmond may have actually been an inconvenient place for them to stay at the time. I created Aunt Blakeney to be the widow of Mr. Bennet's uncle, who, too elderly to travel much, would, none-the-less, welcome the eldest Bennet sisters for a short visit.


End file.
